Redwood Research’s current project

Abstract

This article presents the ‘quiz study’ of Ross, Amabile, and Steinmetz (1977), which demonstrated the Fundamental Attribution Error, a cognitive bias where observers rate questioners higher than answerers, even when they know the assignments were random. The author argues that this error can lead to a ‘super-happy death spiral’ of reverence, where individuals overrate the messenger of good information, such as teachers or science popularizers, based on their limited interactions with them in domains where they have less knowledge. Citing examples from Eliezer Yudkowsky’s writings on philosophy, economics, and psychology, the author suggests that knowledge should be obtained from multiple independent sources to avoid this bias. Additionally, the author recommends seeking neutral sources like the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and reading opposing viewpoints to gain a more balanced understanding. – AI-generated abstract.